I have a chance to spend 8 to 10 weeks on England's south coast but I'll need to hire a car. Does anyone know of long term deals on rentals, or short term leases. I'll be there from Feb 1 through the middle of April. the best rate I've found is $1300, not bad but I'm sure there's better.

$1300 would be amazingly cheap. Otherwise, check on lease/buy back options. I'm mostly familiar w/ Puegeot and Renault. Not sure if they offer their programs in the UK.

(just curious though, If you are hiring a car, is there a reason you're also asking about Britrail?)

Because I really want to go up to town from my base in Rye and don't even want to think of driving up. Train's so much faster.

Yes -- you'd definitely want to take the train up to London. But I don't think you'd need a Britrail Pass for that.

Britrail is a company that sells tourist rail passes. Mostly geared for those taking several long distance journeys up and down the UK.

Check http://www.thetrainline.com/buytickets/?

Rye to London day return takes about 1:20 and costs in the region of £19 w/ a senior railcard.

oops-- £20

Like janisj said above $1300 is amazingly cheap. You might check that insurance is included or if you have a credit card that will cover rentals in the UK.
You might check with Auto France They rent and lease cars in other places besides France including London and have excellent rates on long term leases. http://www.autofrance.net/Locations.aspx

Oh -- meant to mention . . .

About insurance. Most credit cards don't offer car rental insurance for longer then 30 days per hire.

So if you were planning on your cc covering your CDW, you might have to do multiple rental periods. Rent a car for 3 or 4 weeks, turn it in and rent another one or at minimum re-write the contract.

Thanks janisj, when I looked online, fare Rye to London was 50 pounds. My host tells me there's a fast train from Ashford that makes it in 30 minutes, can't beat it. Re car, I'll check on the insurance, but what's CDW. I don't quite get all the shortcuts used on Fodor forums.
Meath1, I'll check autofrance too. Thank you.

Now here's a twist. I decided that flying to Paris and staying there for a week before taking the Eurostar to Ashford, would save all kinds of hassle. It would still be 6 weeks of car rental but I could pick it up in Ashford, as long as it's not too expensive to drop a car At Heathrow. Good idea to rewrite the contract or turn in the car for another!
Need a cheap place to stay in Paris, I'll start a new forum...

As you start to research, CDW will be mentioned on every rental site. It stands for Collision Damage Waiver -- essentially the same as the 'deductible' in the States. If your cc doesn't cover you, you'll have to buy very expensive insurance from the hire firm.

There are normally no extra fees for pick up/drop off at different locations. But you still would most likely need two different rentals to cover 6 weeks.

Another option you might want to think about: You could take the Eurostar to St Pancras and stay in the city for a few days. It is much easier to tour London from IN London than from 75 miles away on the south coast. Then after a few nights in London, take the train to Gatwick, collect a rental car and on to your base in Rye. And finally drop the car at Heathrow.

Oh - meant to say -- there is usually an additional amount on top of the CDW (sometimes called the 'excess') which is not covered by the CDW.

That excess is really more like Stateside deductible (I was posting too fast and didn't say it exactly like I intended). CDW is the main collision coverage. That is why it is really important to have coverage by your credit card -- since it would cover everything.

Thanks Janisj, I believe my cc covers insurance but I'll ensure that it does before I leave. I agree it's easier to see London from London, but I have free lodging down in Kent, which easily pays for the train fare for day trips on the fast train from Ashford.

Yes -- your cc will probably cover you. But not usually for more than 30 days. In fact one of my ccs cuts it off at 29 days ('less than 30 days')

That was my point about needing to rent two cars.

If your credit card will carry the CDW, you can rent a car at the "basic" rate from Autoeurope or Kemwel. It would be much cheaper, but you would have to return the car and pick up another one every 4 weeks because Visa does not permit rentals of more than a month when carrying the CDW, but does allow consecutive rentals. I checked, out of curiosity, and a six week rental from Feb. 1 to March 15 costs less than US$1000.

Michael: The thread is three+ years old - it was topped by an spammer.

oops.